


By the Beautiful Sea

by orphan_account



Category: DCU, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Barry can't catch a break, CPR, Drowning, Emotionally constipated Hal, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Intubation, M/M, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-14
Updated: 2017-10-14
Packaged: 2019-01-17 09:37:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12362892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Hal and Barry are chilling when the Demolition Team decides to show up and screw everything up.





	By the Beautiful Sea

**Author's Note:**

> Whoops guess it's time for more Halbarry whump ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

“Flash, what’s your status?” Hal threw up a shield as bullets spat towards him like red-hot hornets. This was not how he’d planned his rare day off, but it seemed like the less savory denizens of Coast City had other plans. He’d been lucky that Barry had been visiting - it seemed like the Demolition Team had gotten some new recruits, and he doubted he could’ve handled it all by himself. They’d been enjoying a casual beer at the waterfront when chaos had erupted in the form of villains with a hard-on for construction puns.

“I’m pinned down,” came Barry’s reply. “They’re spraying too many bullets for me to phase through them all.” 

Casting a glance to his left, Hal saw Barry crouched behind a piece of rubble, pockmarks rapidly forming on its surface as the Demolition Team targeted him. Hal pushed his shield forward until it collided with his attacker and knocked her off her feet. Now that he was free, he could deal with the others. Flying towards the man targeting Barry, Hal delivered a devastating uppercut.

“There’s too many civilians here - I need to get them to safety.”

“Roger that, GL. I’ll keep them off your tail.”

An explosion rocked the waterfront, and Hal was forced to make a large net in order to catch a family that had fallen off the pier. The wooden structure collapsed with a groan, and a large hole formed in the middle of the boardwalk. Hal cursed as he noticed people trapped on the opposite end of the pier, unable to get to safety.

“I’ve got them,” Barry called over the comms, before dashing towards the pier. Several shots rang out, and Hal’s attention was diverted once more. Spying the shooter, he flew up several floors of a nearby building and barreled through the window. His opponent turned his gun towards Hal, who grabbed it with a construct and tossed it out the window. He made to grab the man as well, but he dodged Hal’s hands and punched him across the jaw. Hal retaliated, his face stinging, but his constructs seemed to have little effect on the man.  _ Some sort of body armor, _ he guessed. 

Uneasy at being separated from the main fight outside, Hal formed a bubble around the man’s head and tightened it until he was gasping for air, his fingers scrabbling for purchase on the smooth green sphere. Eventually, his eyes drooped, and at the sound of another explosion, Hal cannoned through the shattered window. Only two members of the Demolition Team remained, the rest unconscious or apprehended as the CCPD made their way through the fray. However, as Hal helped mop up the rest of the damage, he couldn’t see Barry. Landing on the damaged pier, he cast around for the familiar red of Barry’s suit.

“Flash? Come in, Flash!” However, there was no response, and a note of urgency tightened Hal’s voice. “Flash, can you hear me?!”

Worry starting to bubble in his stomach, Hal turned to the family Barry had rescued. “Did you see where the Flash went? What happened?” He resisted the urge to grab them by their shoulders and shake them.

“He - he got hit by the rubble,” the first woman said, sobs making her shoulders heave. “He fell…” Her eyes turned to the murky water below them, and Hal’s heart dropped like a stone. Without a second thought, he dove off the pier.

The water was full of dirt and debris, the glow from Hal’s ring unable to penetrate more than a few feet in front of him.

“Scan for life signs,” he ordered, then growled with frustration as dozens of fish and other aquatic dwellers were outlined in front of him. “Scan for zeta tube residue,” he corrected, and was rewarded with a soft green light not too far away. Hal powered forwards, seaweed tugging at his legs until he found a large chunk of rubble sitting at the bottom of the beach. It was deeper than he expected, and his breath caught when he saw a red form protruding from underneath the concrete. It was Barry, his leg pinned to the floor by the rubble.

Hal concentrated as he maneuvered the concrete slab off Barry, struggling to maintain both the construct and his position in the water. He was unused to dealing with buoyancy, having trained in either regular gravity or space. Eventually, he was able to slide the concrete off Barry, who began to limply float upwards. A spike of worry drove through Hal’s gut as he noticed Barry wasn’t moving.

Grabbing Barry, Hal flew upwards and out of the water, landing on an isolated section of the pier. Barry’s head lolled, his eyes closed and mouth hanging open slightly. Hal knelt at his side, wincing at the sight of Barry’s mangled-looking leg. He patted Barry on the cheeks, hoping to wake him up.

“Hey, it’s me. Wake up, Barr.” But Barry didn’t respond. Hal placed his fingers along Barry’s throat, feeling for a pulse. Icy fear trickled down his spine as he couldn’t find one, and Hal slid his fingers to the other side of Barry’s neck, searching in vain for a heartbeat. Finding none, he tugged on the hidden zipper behind the lightning bolt logo and undid Barry’s jacket. Dimly, he could hear the clamor of a crowd, but unable to cross the large hole in the pier, they couldn’t intervene.

Hal poked Barry’s chest until he felt the bottom of his sternum, then carefully measured two finger widths up. His hands were shaking as he pressed them over Barry’s chest, then began pushing. He vaguely remembered something about “Another One Bites the Dust” in his CPR classes, and a hysterical laugh welled up inside Hal. A dull  _ snap _ drew his attention as one of Barry’s ribs broke, and Hal fought the urge to draw back in revulsion as Barry’s chest became more pliable. However, Barry didn’t stir, even after more than three minutes of compressions.

It was time for a change in tactics. Hal tilted Barry’s head back, careful to keep his mask on, and pinched his nose shut. Sealing his mouth over Barry’s, Hal blew in forcefully, twice, then resumed his compressions. If somebody had told him that today he’d be locking lips with Barry Allen, Hal would’ve busted them for possession while suppressing a furious blush. But Barry’s lips were so cold, and Hal couldn’t think about anything now but keeping Barry alive. 

“Come on, buddy,” he panted, practically begging as he continued compressing Barry’s chest. “Come on, I need you back here.” Barry convulsed, and Hal barely managed to tilt Barry’s head to the side before he threw up. Watery vomit dripped through the wooden slats, but Barry didn’t move again. His thirty compressions up, Hal breathed down Barry’s mouth again, the sharp taste of vomit souring his own mouth. 

“Come  _ on _ !” Hal roared in frustration as he continued pumping at Barry’s chest, not caring how many cameras were trained on him. “Come on, you can do it!”

As if on cue, more water spluttered from Barry’s mouth, cascading over his lips and chin in rivulets. Hal tilted Barry’s head again and placed his fingers against Barry’s throat, stifling a near-sob of relief. It was weak and fluttery, but his pulse was there. 

“Let’s get you home, bud,” Hal whispered, surrounding Barry in a gentle green glow before rocketing up into the sky.

 

Bruce and Clark were waiting for him at the entrance of the boom tube, a gurney already prepped as Hal flew in. He set Barry down as gently as he could, letting him be whisked towards the medbay. Hearing Clark mutter something about a ventilator, he moved to follow, but Diana moved to block his path.

“Diana, please.” The words left his mouth before Hal knew he was saying them. Diana’s brow furrowed, but she remained firm.

“If I think what is going to happen occurs, it would be best if you’re not there. Intubation can be...difficult to watch when it happens to someone you care about.” Hal opened his mouth to ask her how she knew that, but she held up a hand. “I promise you, Bruce and the others will take good care of him. You may see him later.”

Hal nodded, suddenly keenly aware of how jittery he was, how his eyelids felt weighted. He slumped into a chair by the medbay, glass tinted so he couldn’t see inside. God knew what was happening to Barry at that moment - probably having a tube shoved down his throat and his lungs vacuumed out. Hal’s own throat worked in sympathy, and he rested his head in his hands. He blew out a long, shuddering breath, then inhaled deeply, surprised at how uneven it sounded.  _ Barry’s ok, _ he reminded himself,  _ He’s gonna be ok _ . But the image of Barry lying motionless on the dock persisted behind his eyelids, and Hal dug the heels of his palms into his eyes with a frustrated noise. 

He couldn’t deny it any more - maybe he had feelings for Barry. Hal had hoped that it was just physical, because there was no way in hell Barry was anything other than straight, and he could deal with that, had before. But then his heart had started to clench whenever Barry laughed, and Hal found himself bending over backwards just to see him smile again, and  _ Oh God, what if he never smiles again ‘cause he’s dead _ ? 

Shaking his head, Hal struggled to banish anxious thoughts from his brain, and consigned himself to waiting in silence.

 

Hours later, Bruce and Clark re-emerged, both looking a bit on the haggard side. Hal looked up sharply, a new wave of worry twisting his stomach into knots.

“You can see him,” Bruce said, jerking his chin upwards. “He’s on a ventilator so he can’t speak, but he’s doing much better. With his accelerated healing, he should be back on his feet in about a day.”

“You did a good job, Hal,” added Clark. “Without those compressions, he probably wouldn’t have made it.”

“Thank you.” The words were raw, almost whispered as they escaped Hal’s throat. He stood up, stiffness pulling at his muscles as he realized it must be in the middle of the night. He was still coated in dust and dried sweat, but Hal didn’t care - he just wanted to see Barry.

Blue eyes flicked over as Hal entered the medbay, the soft beeping of machines accompanied by a repetitive  _ hiss-tick _ from the bulky ventilator that sat by Barry’s bedside. A large blue piece of plastic had been taped over Barry’s mouth, and Hal watched in morbid fascination as his chest rose and fell in time to the machine’s noises. Swallowing hard, Hal looked at the network of bruises over Barry’s chest and the bandages around his ribs, the elaborate traction cast on his right leg.

“Jesus Christ, Barr, I’m sorry.”

Barry furrowed his brows, typing on a small keypad near his hand.  _ Not ur fault _ projected into the air in front of him with a small blue flicker.  _ U did what u had 2. _

“I know, it’s just-” Hal ran a hand through his hair with a frustrated sigh. “I just hate seeing you laid up like this. If I had been there-”

Barry glared at him and gestured to where  _ Not ur fault _ was still hovering.  _ Stop beating urself up _ , he added. Despite the glare, Hal could feel the good intentions behind it.

“You’d do the same thing if it was me on the ventilator,” he commented, and sat down in the chair next to Barry. Although his mouth was taped shut, Barry’s cheeks quirked upwards in a smile. 

_ Yeah _ , he admitted, before letting his arm rest on the bed. Impulsively, Hal reached for it, wrapping his fingers around Barry’s. The speedster’s hand tensed for a second, but quickly relaxed. His chest stuttered, and Hal looked up in surprise, but Barry screwed up his eyes, and it soon regained its normal rhythm. 

_ This sux, _ Barry typed with a frown.  _ Have 2 think about not breathing _ .

“Bruce says you’ll be off in a few hours,” offered Hal. “Then you can go back home and take the day off - God knows you need it.”

_ Dont want 2 go home _ .

Hal’s eyes flicked between the words and Barry with concern. “Why not?”

_ Want 2 stay w/ u _ . 

Barry’s smile reached his eyes this time, and he squeezed his fingers around Hal’s.  _ I saw my mom _ .

Hal gaped at Barry. “You did?” He asked in spite of himself. “With the tunnel of white light and everything?”

Barry shook his head slightly, unable to perform the full gesture while intubated.  _ No. She said she wanted me 2 b happy _ .  _ Im happy when I’m w/ u _ .

Hal felt like he’d been punched in the gut, his heart rate picking up. “Are you telling me you defeated death itself just so we can go on our man-dates?” He joked, not daring to hope. Barry cast him a reproachful look.

_ I just died. B nice _ .

“Sorry.”

_ Id like them more if they were real _ .

“Barr, I’m sorry, I just have to ask-” Hal swallowed the lump in his throat. “What did they give you? Are you, you know, loopy or anything?”

_ Nothing _ . Barry quasi-shrugged.  _ I go thru drugs 2 fast _ .

“Oh.” When Hal didn’t respond, Barry frowned again.

_ I shouldntve said that. Sorry. _

“No, no! That’s not it!” Hal hastened to form a coherent response. “It’s just that - I never thought you’d ask.”

Barry’s eyes lit up mischievously.  _ U were 2 shy 2 ask me on a d8? Now I know Im dead _ .

Hal couldn’t help but let out a watery chuckle at that. “Keep that up, and I’ll tell everyone that you still use early 2000’s text speak.” He was silent a moment, an uncharacteristic blush staining his cheeks. “But yeah, I’ll - I’ll go out with you. Once you get better.” He moved to get up, but Barry gripped his hand, surprisingly strong.

_ Stay _ , he typed. 

“Okay,” Hal replied, and sat back down. He could see Barry’s eyelids starting to flutter, and his own eyes felt like they’d been popped out of his skull, rolled in sand, then popped back in. “Okay,” he repeated, quieter, this time. “I’ll stay.”

Barry dozed off in a matter of minutes, and Hal was not far behind him, still holding onto Barry’s hand. 


End file.
